William Wallace
Anthony Delongis }}"William Wallace was viewed as a rebel by many in power, but to the common man, he was a god." -Kieron Elliot, highlander weapons expert/host of The Aftermath. "They may take our lives, but they'll never take...OUR FREEDOM!" -William Wallace, to his men before the Battle of Falkirk. William Wallace, the legendary Scottish rebel, who lead a bloodthirsty army of Highlanders against the mighty English empire; Shaka Zulu, the fierce African warlord who built a Zulu army that killed 2 million enemies, and transformed a continent. Stats *c. 1270 - 1305 *Scotland *Gear - 40 lbs *Armor - Chain Mail *Height - 6'5 *Weight - 230 lbs *Symbol - Heraldic Lion (common military symbol from Wallace's time) History When William the Conqueror cemented his rule in England, he also expanded influence in Scotland. Since 1072; the Scottish monarchy would be monitored by the English, with some historians considering Scotland to be a English puppetstate. https://youtu.be/KlXobRvePyQ On 19 March 1286 the King of Scots Alexander III died in a horseriding accident. He had no male heirs and 14 scottish lords each individually claimed their right to succession. The Scots asked King Edward I to intervene and end the debate: in an event known as The Great Cause of 1286. Edward supported and chose John Balliol under the condition that Balliol swore loyalty to Edward, making him the del facto ruler of Scotland. The Scots agreed to end the initial chaos; however the Scots quickly regretted this as Edward repressed and overtaxed the Scots (primarily to fund the Anglo-French War (1294–1303)). Balliol's reign was mostly overshadowed by Edward; who did the majority of the lawmaking. Balliol declared independence and signed the Auld Alliance to assist France in their war against England. Edward saw this as treason and invaded; winning a decisive victory at The Battle of Dunbar on 27 April 1296. The Scots invaded England in retaliation but lost at the Battle of Dunbar in 27 April 1296. Edward led a counter-invasion, raided Scotland and captured Balliol. Edward then replaced Scottish nobility with English puppets, which only lead to the second wave of Scottish revolution led by William Wallace. Sir William Wallace (1272 or 1273- 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight with Welsh heritage and landowner who is known for leading a resistance during the Wars of Scottish Independence and is known today in Scotland as a patriot and national hero. Wallace's father and brother were killed by an English knight; which was one of the first things that enraged him. William Wallace began his fight for independence by killing the son of the English governor of Dundee, who had been bullying Wallace and his family. In 1291 or 1292, he killed the son of an English noble, named Selby, with a dirk. After becomeing an outlaw Wallace hade much support from the local scots who provided him with food, shelter and information. However, Wallace's most well-documented early combat occurred in 1297, when he killed William Heselrig, the English Sheriff of Lanark, supposedly to avenge the murder of Marion Braidfute, a young maiden Wallace had courted and wed as his wife. On September 11, 1297, Wallace's forces won the Battle of Stirling Bridge. Although vastly outnumbered, the Scottish forces ambushed the English army by funneling them across the narrow bridge (which forced the English to cross it with a column only 2 men wide), with the bridge collapsing later in the battle, sending many English soldiers to a watery grave (especially with English knights weighed down by heavy armor and horses). This was the only bridge in the region to allow access to the Highlands, meaning the English had no ways to outflank the Scots despite the English having superior cavalry. In the months that followed, Wallace led a raid on Northern England. During these raids, Wallace was knighted, possibly by Robert the Bruce (who later become King of Scots), and was named "Guardian of Scotland and Leader of its armies." The following year, Wallace was defeated at the Battle of Falkirk, but managed to evade capture. The Scots were able to initially resist English cavalry using a pike phalanx; but many of the Scot noblemen retreated out of fear as they knew the English had significantly superior numbers (15,000 English to 6,000 Scots). The English then sent their archers within only a few yards of the Scottish line and overwhelmed them with this point-blank volley fire. After this, he left Scotland on a mission to court of King Philip IV of France to plead the case for assistance to the Scottish struggle for independence; but Philip eventually rejected the pleas. William Wallace returned to Scotland in 1303, and was involved in a series of skirmishes over the next year. Wallace evaded capture until August 5, 1305, when John de Menteith (a Scottish knight loyal to England) turned him over to the English. He was transported to London, where he was convicted of treason. On August 23, Wallace was stripped naked and dragged through the city behind a horse, then was drawn, and quartered, strangled by hanging but released while still alive, eviscerated and had his bowels burnt before him, and was finally beheaded while his body was cut into four parts. His head was preserved in tar and placed on a pike atop London Bridge, which was later destroyed. Between 1698–1700, Scotland attempted to colonize the Americas, starting with Darien Panama. The colonization was an expensive disaster, and led to the Acts of Union in 1707, where the bankrupt Scotland joined England as the United Kingdom in order to regain their power. On September 18, 2014, Scotland voted on whether or not to seek independence from the UK. The election favored staying unified, under the condition that the UK remained in the European Union. On June 23, 2016 the UK left the European Union in an event known as 'Brexit'. This move outraged Northern Ireland and Scotland, and the two regions are considering to restart their independence movements in response. Weapons The Scottish Highlanders also used improvised weapons such as billhooks and farm axes. Deadliest Warrior: Legends weapons *Short Range: War Hammer, Scottish Broadsword *Medium Range: Claymore, Greatsword *Long Range: Ettrick Longbow, Ettrick Shortbow *Armor: Chain mail, Leather Cuirass *Joke Weapon: Shovel *Final Strike: in 3 swings of his medium range weapon, he will cut (in order) the legs off, slice through the torso while removing the arms, and then decapitate his opponent with a loud war cry. This is the bloodiest final strike in the game. Simulated Battle The battle begins in a valley with William Wallace armed with his Targe and Ball & Chain. He sees Shaka Zulu running at him and readies his Ball & Chain. He swings it around and throws it at Shaka Zulu, but Shaka rolls right under it. Shaka Zulu throws his Iwisa at Wallace- who blocks it with his Targe- and then pulls out another. William Wallace pulls out his War Hammer and begins to swings at Shaka Zulu. Shaka tries to counter with his Iwisa, and the two lock weapons. William Wallace thrusts the Targe and pierces into Shaka's leg. He pulls out the Targe and tries to finish him with the War Hammer, but Shaka rolls out of the way. Shaka tries to strike William Wallace with his Iwisa, but Wallace blocks again with the Targe and knocks the Iwisa out of Shaka's hands. Shaka Zulu readies his Zulu Axe and starts jumping around. William Wallace runs at Shaka, who tries to hit him with his Axe. Wallace ducks under the Axe and blocks with his Targe. He swings his War Hammer, but Shaka Zulu blocks with his shield and kicks Wallace away. He pulls out his Iklwa and thrusts at William Wallace, but Wallace dodges and swings the War Hammer at Shaka's legs. Shaka falls over and rolls out of the way of Wallace's Targe. Shaka swings at the Targe, preventing William Wallace from picking it up. Wallace swings the War Hammer, but it gets stuck in Shaka Zulu's shield. Wallace pulls the shield from Shaka's hands and throws it and the Hammer away. Shaka Zulu rolls away and waits with his Ilkwa and Zulu Axe in hand for Wallace, who draws his Claymore. Wallace swings at Shaka's legs, but Shaka jumps over it. He screws up the landing, however, and falls to the floor. William Wallace tries to swing at Shaka, but is blocked by the Axe. Shaka slashes Wallace's leg with his Iklwa, forcing Wallace back. He tries to hit Shaka with the Claymore, but Shaka rolls away and dodges. Shaka Zulu turns around and tries to run away. William Wallace throws his Dirk at Shaka, but Shaka deflects it with his Iklwa. Shaka starts to climb a hill, but stops to chew on some poisonous herbs. He sees Wallace running after him and continues to run up the hill. Shaka Zulu tries to spit the poison at Wallace as he approaches, but Wallace manages to turn his head away and prevent the poison from getting into his eyes. Wallace swings his Claymore at Shaka's Zulu Axe and knocks it out of his hands. Shaka then swings his Iklwa and slashes across Wallace's stomach. Wallace swings back in retaliation and slashes Shaka's back. Shaka manages to stab Wallace in his waist, forcing him to stumble back. Shaka Zulu charges at William Wallace, but Wallace regains his balance at the last second and points his Claymore upward. Shaka Zulu jumps at Wallace, but accidentally impales himself on the sword. William Wallace pulls the sword and throws Shaka's dead body aside before giving a loud victory cry. Expert's Opinion What handed Wallace victory was that the majority of his weapons were one hit- one kill especially the Scottish claymore (which could lop off three heads in a single stroke during the testing and which Shaka Zulu's ishlangu shield offered no protection against) which earned him 319 kills alone. Back for Blood William Wallace was considered for the Back for Blood Ancient matchup considering his fearsome claymore as well as the targe and dirk combo, but was dismissed due to his lack of longe range capability (the ball and chain only got one kill in the sim) and due to the fact that chainmail, which is weak against piercing weapons, didn't really serve as armor. Trivia * Not much is accurately known about William Wallace since Scots over-exaggerated many rumors and tales about him; even his family members have very little history written about them. The most famous example of such rumors and myths were from works done by Blind Henry the Minstrel who lived about 200 years after the events of the Scottish War of Independence. ** Some historians believe that Marion Braidfute, Wallace's wife, was created as a myth so that the nobleman who invented her could claim that she was his ancestor. * At a recorded 6'7" Wallace is the tallest warrior featured on the show. * William Wallace was rumored to have been a mercenary for Edward I; the same king he later revolted against. * William Wallace was rumored to have temporarily been a thief before becoming a rebel; spotted stealing beer kegs. * It was rumored that the Scots revolted against the English in response to 'droit du seigneur' or 'jus primae noctis'; the legal right for English nobles to rape peasant women. However this was most likely rebel propaganda, as little to no evidence of this law exists. * Whenever William Wallace's troops defeted English forces, his men would take their weapons and armor to use in future battles. * Early into the war an army of few hundred nobels surrendured to the English without a fight in the Capitulation of Irvine. The nobals kept argueing with each other over which of them would lead the others into battle. In the end the army of Scottish nobels simply surrenderd to the English army and became vassels of King Edward I, the nobility of Scotland did not truly care who was in charge of Scotland as long as they were able to continue living comfortable lives. The large magority of William Wallace's army was composed of common pesents. * Medieval Highlanders most likely did not wear blue facepaint. However this practice was used by the Pict Celts; a confederation of Scot tribes who were infamous for their assaults against Roman Britannia. Since Highlanders were Catholic; they most likely did not want to revive or maintain Pagan culture. * Medieval Highlanders did not wear kilts; this clothing was introduced in the 1600s. Their outfits would be very similar to what an English army would have looked like. * Scottish sword fighting: https://youtu.be/e8Wh8KeAPmg * This is the first battle between two historical individuals (named warriors) to be featured on the show. * This is the shortest simulation run, clocking in at a minute thirty-nine. * William Wallace was portrayed by actor Shaun Piccinino. * In Deadliest Warrior: Legends, William Wallace has the bloodiest finishers in the game, with William Wallace using his sword to slice off the opponent's legs, goes through the torso while also cutting off their arms, and finally decapitates them with a ferocious war scream. A video debunking the inaccuracies of Braveheart https://youtu.be/ojBwASARAzo Category:Warriors Category:Ancient Warriors Category:Named Warriors Category:Ancient European Warriors Category:Victorious Warriors Category:Season 1 Category:Guerrillas Category:Freedom Fighters